


Until the Storm is Over

by Sweetbriar15



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Book 44: The Unexpected, Brothers, Friendship/Love, Gen, Team Dynamics, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-20
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-06-09 13:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6909625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetbriar15/pseuds/Sweetbriar15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sibling troubles, worried best friends, and slowly becoming a zombie: not the best circumstances when one of your team is missing.  </p><p>: : :</p><p>Jake’s perspective of everything Cassie missed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Until the Storm is Over

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the song “Move” by Thousand Foot Krutch.

_“Talk?” Rachel rolled her eyes. “Puh-leez. He wants to give you a big, fat, sloppy kiss. You should’ve seen him. He was a total zombie the whole time you were gone.”_

  _I smiled at Jake. “A zombie? Really?”_

_Jake shot Rachel a dirty look, then stared down at his French fries. “Depends on your definition of a zombie.”_

" _How’s this for a definition?” Tobias said. “Somebody who can’t eat, can’t sleep, spends every minute of the night and day searching the airport and all other known Yeerk hangouts, and can only utter one intelligible sentence: ‘I have to FIND HER.’”_

_Jake rolled his eyes. “Okay, so I was a zombie.”_

_—excerpt from Chapter 24 of Animorphs #44: The Unexpected_  

* * *

 

The mission was not going as planned. 

<Oh, this is good,> Marco said. <We’re getting it from both sides again.> 

Sirens and shouts sounded across the tarmac. Police cars screeched, lights flashing, bullhorns blaring. Airport security guards streamed from the terminal. 

<Jake,> Cassie said. <They’re headed right into the line of fire.> 

<Let them go. Visser Three won’t want that many witnesses. The Controllers will have to back off.> Even as I said it, I saw that it wasn’t happening. 

The police and airport security joined forces…against the Marines. 

<Uh, Jake?> 

<Yeah, I know.> They were not going to back off. They were Controllers. 

An entire Yeerk army. 

BAM! Chooooong. 

Bullets ricocheted off one of the cargo bins. 

<What’s the plan?> 

I crouched, thinking hard. We couldn’t take them all on, and they were all human. No way we’d win with minimal casualties. <A battalion of Yeerks against the six of us. Not good.> 

<Plus the two Marines,> Cassie said. <And the guys in the armored truck.> 

<Yeah, don’t forget them.> Marco snorted. <They’ve been such a big help already.> 

<But we can’t just leave them,> Cassie retorted. 

<And we can’t leave without that chunk of Bug fighter,> Rachel pointed out. <That’s why we came. We have to get it out of here before the Yeerks destroy it.> 

They all made good points, but how much would it cost for us to complete our mission? We couldn’t fight off all of those Controllers. Or help the humans who didn’t know we were allies. <No, we can’t risk it. There’s no way we can get it without getting ourselves killed.> 

<There is a maintenance ramp past the next gate, Prince Jake,> said Ax. 

<Good. We can demorph inside. Okay, guys, mission aborted. Let’s go. Stay close to the building. Go, go, go. And Ax? Don’t call me—oh, forget it.> No time. I had to get us out of here. 

Leaping between the bins, I led the way. Marco and Ax were close behind me. I heard Rachel growl, smacking the cargo bin one last time before she was coming after us. 

Then we were tearing away from the battlefield. I felt guilty as I ran away, wishing I could stop to help out the Marines. Complete our mission. 

But we weren’t going to make it. It was one piece of a Bug fighter, not spelling our doom if the Yeerks got it back. But those human lives being lost… I wished we could do something to change that. Desperately. 

No choice. Cut our losses and get out. 

We stumbled up the maintenance ramp, headed to a secluded area to demorph. We’d have to remorph to seagulls and get out of here. I started demorphing the instant I was far from the entrance, blocked from sight. Crouching down, I focused on my human self—then as soon as possible, focused on the seagull morph. I closed my eyes as I felt feathers appearing on my skin, as I shrank and my bones grinded and shifted. I breathed easier when I was done. <All right. Everyone good?> 

A short chorus of replies echoed in my mind. It was then that I realized we were missing someone. <Where’s Cassie?> 

<She was right behind me.> Tobias’ wings spread slightly, nervously. <She said she was coming.> 

I said something unpleasant. Opened my wings and took off. 

I headed toward the skies immediately, trying to appear casual as I searched desperately for a wounded gull. 

There was none. But neither were there the masses of Yeerk forces around the site of the shootout. Only a few remained, dragging the Marine’s bodies into the armored truck. I searched some more. Looked further away, and caught sight of a baggage cart crashed into a plane. The Yeerks were swarming around the site. 

I got a twisted feeling in my gut. 

I drifted closer, listening as cops shouted at one another. 

“It has to be here!” 

“We sprayed it with bug spray, but—”

“Spread out and find it! We can’t let it get away or the Visser will have our heads!” 

They scattered. 

My stomach twisted sharply. They were searching for Cassie. Bug-Cassie, I assumed from the bug spray. She’d obviously demorphed and remorphed. Hopefully demorphed again and gotten away. But where had she gone, then? What had happened? 

Another baggage train headed toward another plane. The rest of the terminal was operating as expected. No one paused as the police converged on the plane. Obviously, the other workers thought there had to be a good reason and went about their daily business. Maybe they thought it was connected to the shootout at the further gate—if they’d even noticed that. 

<Anything?> Marco asked, drifting casually by. 

<They know we were here,> I answered grimly. <They got her with bug spray, but she got away. They don’t know where she is now.> 

<How did they figure out she was one of us at all?> Rachel asked. 

<I think she took the baggage cart, but I’m not sure.> I flapped, peeling toward a building to perch as a nearby plane began to pull away from one of the gates. <Cassie!> I called out to her. A pressure began to build in my chest. 

Everyone else took it up, directing their thought-speech. <Cassie! Cassie!> 

But try as we might, she didn’t answer. 

: : :

I told Ax and Rachel to take care of the truck. They got away with it, knocking out the remaining Yeerks easily while the majority were panicking over an ‘Andalite Bandit’ going missing. When they came back, they told us what they’d done with it and the still-alive armored truck people. They were told that it was a setup, courtesy of the rogue Marine agents that they had acquired and morphed. Guess the almost-dead Marines were still alive enough to acquire. 

I felt bad that we’d used them like that. We had no choice, though. And at least now the wreckage of the Bug fighter was destroyed. Neither NASA nor the Yeerks would have it. 

We succeeded, only to lose a team member. And we couldn’t find her.   

We stayed there for hours. Demorphing and remorphing as necessary, we fluttered around and searched the entire airport. We called for her, but she never answered. The sun fell and night made seagull morphs difficult. 

My stomach was twisting up as we decided that we had to leave. Tobias volunteered to hang around and watch the Controllers, in case they found something. The rest of us had to get home, though. And maybe she had gotten away, after all, and didn’t know where we were. I clung to that hope, praying that she had made it. A bit of the tension eased off my shoulders at the thought that she had gotten away. 

We split up as we headed home. I went with Marco, having left some clothes at his place. His dad and Nora had gone on a short trip, just the two of them, leaving Marco home alone. They were still gone when we got back. I put on my clothes and shoes as Marco checked the phone. When I got to the kitchen, he shook his head. No call from Cassie. 

The pressure on my chest returned. 

“I’m sure she’s fine,” he said. 

I felt his eyes on my back as I turned away. “I hope so.” 

He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “Get home. Maybe she called you.” The likelihood was slim. She’d have called everyone else when I, and they, weren’t home. 

I shrugged as I left his house. I could feel his concern as I walked away, but I couldn’t help myself. I was worried. 

Tom was in the kitchen when I got back, sitting at the table. He raised an eyebrow as I walked in. “What were you doing out so late?” 

“Nothing. Just hanging with Marco.” I casually stopped by the fridge, opening it and scanning the inside casually. “Anyone call while I was out?” I held my breath as I waited for an answer. 

“What, for you? Nope.” My stomach twisted even more tightly. I wasn’t hungry. “You eat yet, midget?” 

I glanced at him as I headed toward the stairs. “Not hungry. Why?” 

“Mom and dad are out for the night with Aunt Naomi. Left us money.” He grinned, waving a few bills at me. “I was thinking we’d order a pizza, watch a game or something.” 

I hesitated. I wanted nothing more than to sneak right out my bedroom window, go back to the airport and search for Cassie. But Tom’s Yeerk would be suspicious if I snuck out, so I couldn’t. However, that didn’t mean I wanted to spend time with him. It was hard to be anywhere near him, knowing what I knew. “I’m not really hungry,” I hedged, edging toward the door. 

His eyes narrowed slightly. “You sure?” 

“Yeah. Order whatever, I’ll eat later.” I slipped upstairs, not waiting for him to get another word in.

Escaping to my room, I shut the door and let out a long breath of air. The tension that ran through my body wouldn’t calm. I needed… I had to get out of here, I had to find her. But where was she? That was the thing, we had no idea where she even was. We’d searched for her, but she was just gone. As if she’d disappeared into thin air. At least the Yeerks had searched for her as frantically as we had; they didn’t know where she was, either.  

I paced. Relentlessly. 

I couldn’t stop, couldn’t do anything but repeat what we knew over and over in my head. I couldn’t leave yet, either. Tom was the only one here, which meant I couldn’t leave unless I had an excuse. And I couldn’t just disappear from my room, or he’d notice. I couldn’t let him become suspicious. The stress just kept building the longer I paced. 

So much that Tom’s knock on my door made me start morphing to tiger before I realized what I was doing. I made sure I was human before I opened the door grudgingly. 

A medium pizza hovered before me. I could smell the pepperoni. He smiled, but curiosity reigned in his expression as he took in the darkness of my room and the fact that I was still in my clothes and shoes. “Pizza’s here.” 

I blinked. “Um…thanks.” 

A beat. “Can I come in?” 

I hesitated, but stood aside to let him in. I flicked the light switch as I did, my eyes squinting slightly at the sudden brightness. He eased down onto the floor, leaving the pizza box on my bed. He watched me, curious. “So, what’s up?” 

“What do you mean?” I pulled out my desk chair, sitting backwards on it. Keeping him in my line of sight the whole time. 

“You come back at eighty-thirty at night with something obviously on your mind, and you think I’m not going to notice? You’ve been up here pacing since you got back, haven’t you?” He shook his head as I frowned. “I could hear you muttering to yourself.” A bolt of shock zipped down my spine, along with anger. How stupid was I? He might have heard me! “Now, who’s got you all up in a twist?” 

“I…” I looked away, trying to pull together a story. “It’s nothing,” I finally said. That sounded like ‘old Jake’. 

“Uh huh.” 

“Really.”

“No, I believe you. I just can’t help wondering why you’d be pacing and mumbling, though.” 

“I have something on my mind, all right?” I tapped my fingers against the back of my chair and wondered what this Yeerk’s game was. What was he trying to do? “It’s none of your business.” 

He actually managed to look hurt, holding his hands up in a ‘peace’ gesture. “Hey, I’m your big brother. Maybe I—or one of the guys—can help.” 

“One of the guys?” I raised an eyebrow. I’d heard that phrase from him before.

“Yeah. Look, I know it might be weird telling me about whatever’s going on in your life. You tell your friends, right? But they don’t always know much more than you do, or what you should do, because they haven’t lived it either.” He made a good point. No one else knew what was going through my head—least of all, him. “I just want you to think about this, okay? We have this mentoring program with—”

Suddenly, I knew exactly what he was saying, who the ‘guys’ were. What he was doing. A burning hot feeling of disappointment shot through me. I knew that he wasn’t my brother, but some part of me had hoped that maybe this was a concession to Tom. That the Yeerk was acting out a ‘big brother’ role. Something to give me a piece of my brother back. 

Stupid hope. 

“—The Sharing?” I finished his sentence for him. My cold tone mirrored my expression. “Is that what you’re saying?” 

“Well, yeah.” He shrugged, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he took in my suddenly angry demeanor. “I just thought—”

“You just thought that you’d rather shove me off on someone else than actually talk to me about my problems, is that it?” I was angry about something else, and taking it out on Tom. On the Yeerk. On this completely unrelated situation. “You think it’s not worth your time.” My instincts screamed at me: this was dangerous. 

He straightened, managing to look baffled, hurt and embarrassed all at once. But not, I noticed, guilty. “That’s not what I meant.” 

“Sure sounds like it.”

“I’m just trying to help you.”

Just trying to help your filthy race. “Yeah, I bet.” I stood up, shoving open my door. “Get out.” 

“Jake…”

“Get. Out.” 

We glared at each other for a long minute. Then he stomped out the door, tossing a parting shot over his shoulder. “Sorry for trying to help.”

I cursed at him. I couldn’t help it. Then I slammed my door and collapsed against it, holding my head in my hands. I couldn’t hear his feet on the stairs for a long minute, during which I wondered if he was just going to blast me with a Dracon beam. Get rid of his host body’s irritating younger sibling. Then I heard him walking down the stairs, and my shoulders fell. 

I could feel the heat on my cheeks, the burn in my eyes. I did not need this when I was worried about Cassie. I didn’t… I couldn’t _take_ all of this. 

My chest felt like it was under a pile of bricks. I sniffed a couple times, rubbed my hands over my eyes, tried to calm down. 

<Jake.> 

My head snapped up. Several birds fluttered outside my window. I shot up, remembering to lock my bedroom door just in case. I slid open the window and let them in. Tobias, Marco, Rachel, and Ax all fluttered into my room. I pressed my finger to my lips and grabbed a sheet of paper. Couldn’t risk Tom hearing us, not when it was only the two of us alone in the house. 

_Parents out. Only Tom. Don’t demorph. What’s going on?_

I showed it to them. 

<I stayed at the airport until the Controllers started panicking. I overheard a bit of it—they think that Cassie got on one of the planes that took off.> 

I wanted to slap my forehead. Of course! She had been surrounded by escape routes, and we’d been so focused on the fact that she could morph we hadn’t thought of anything else. 

_What plane?_

<That’s the problem. They don’t know, and neither do we. And they might not even be right. She could be here still, just stuck somewhere.> I narrowed my eyes at Tobias, and I could have sworn I saw sympathy in his eyes. <Marco thought of it.> 

I glared at Marco. 

He shuffled uneasily at my dark look. <It’s just a thought. She may have gotten stuck.> 

<We cannot be sure she isn’t a _nothlit_ , Prince Jake.> Ax fluffed his feathers a little. <If she was trapped in a bug morph, and the spray got her…> He didn’t bother finishing.

Rachel cut in. <Or, following that train of thought, she could be stuck with Controllers around somewhere else. If she was at the airport, she would have answered us. So what if she hitched a ride out of there, not on an airplane but on another person? She could be anywhere. I refuse to believe she didn’t find a way to escape. Even if she was, you know, stuck in morph.> 

I lowered my head, thinking. They were all plausible scenarios. We weren’t sure what had happened. And out of the three, there was only one we could do anything about. I grabbed the paper. 

_Marco, your Dad still out?_

<He called after you left. They’re at the hotel for the night.> 

_Meet me outside. I’m going to “Marco’s” for the night._

I shredded the paper once they read it. They flapped to the window and I closed it behind them. Then I grabbed a small backpack and put a change of clothes into it. Unlocking my door, I eased out into the hallway and grabbed the upstairs phone. I dialed my dad’s cell number and waited for him to answer. 

_“Hello?”_

“Hey, dad. Can I spend the night at Marco’s?”

I heard a brief conversation with my mom. _“Tomorrow is Friday.”_  

“I know. I have before, you know.”

_“…All right. You have a point. Just go to bed at a reasonable time, all right? You have school tomorrow.”_

“Thanks.” 

 _“Have fun.”_ We hung up. 

I made sure to grab the pizza box as I went down the stairs. Tom was in the living room. 

“I’m going out.” I dropped the pizza box on the counter.  

“You’re what?”

“I’m going to Marco’s.” I winced as I realized how lame it sounded. 

“You just came from Marco’s. And it’s Thursday.” 

I could sense him in the doorway, and I refused to look at him. Hitched the backpack higher on my shoulder as I headed toward the front door. “I’m aware. Already called dad and asked.” 

He followed me out of the house, stopping in the doorway. “Jake…”

“What?” I didn’t want to pause, but I did. 

He sighed. “I’m sorry, all right?” 

I snorted. “Sure.” 

I didn’t have to look behind me as I walked away. I knew he would probably roll his eyes skyward, cursing difficult human siblings. Or he glared at my back, wishing he could blast me. I heard the door close after a moment, though. 

I made it around the corner before I broke into an angry jog, wishing I could hit something. I went a couple blocks, sensing the birds flapping above me as I headed toward Marco’s house. He flapped ahead of me and landed on the porch railing. He didn’t need to tell me the key was under the matt. Which meant he wanted to ask. 

He followed me in, flapping through his house as I locked the door and went up to his room. <What was that about?> I knew he meant Tom’s parting shot. 

“We got in a fight before you showed up.” 

<Oh. Fun.> 

“Tons,” I replied drily, peeling off my clothes and stashing them with my backpack in his closet. The window was still open, the lights off. “I was going to kill him. I think he wanted to kill me.” I focused on my morph. 

<I’m sure Tom was rooting for you.> 

I smiled. Then my lips disappeared, forming a beak. 

Minutes later, two owls flew silently out the window. 

: : : 

I was still out when the sun rose. 

Everyone had disappeared at some point during the night. I gave Ax permission to go back to his scoop to see if he could find information on the flights heading out of the airport around the time Cassie had disappeared. Rachel had been exhausted and almost hit a telephone pole, after which I’d sent her home with Marco. Both of them were ordered to get some sleep. I split off from Tobias, telling him to stay at the airport to keep an eye on the few still-panicked Controllers scoping the area.  

And I was staking out the McDonalds, hoping to see something happening at this pool entrance. 

So far, nothing. I wracked my brain to think of where to go next. Maybe a flight around town, something had to turn up… 

I called out to Cassie again, listening intently for anything. Any reply. There was none.

Sighing, I dropped to the back alley across the street from the fast food place. Demorphing, I stretched my arms and considered our options. I didn’t want to waste time rounding everyone up. Maybe something had happened at the airport while I was gone. I’d go find Tobias. 

That settled, I began to morph back. Then I glanced at the sky, demorphed, and went peregrine falcon. The sun would be up very soon. I’d need a diurnal bird, instead of the nocturnal owl. And the speed of my falcon morph was fantastic. 

Satisfied with the difference, I took off. Still called for Cassie in private thought-speech every few minutes. The good thing about thought-speech was that your voice never got tired. I could call for hours—had, in fact, done just that. 

The airport was alive and bustling with normal activity as I approached. The Controllers were gone. A red flag pinged in my mind. Where was Tobias? I scanned the area for him and saw only gulls. I called out to him. <Tobias!> 

<Jake?> 

I circled around, finally spotting him perching on the edge of a building. <I thought you were going to come back in the morning.> 

<Is morning.> 

He turned his hawk glare on me as I kept circling. <At a reasonable hour of the morning.> 

<Anything?> 

<No Cassie. The Controllers left an hour or so ago. The lead guy was on a cell phone, shaking in his boots. Either he was reporting that they’d lost the Andalite, or just found out he was going to be telling Visser Three in person.>  

<Good. Go.> 

<What?>

<Get everyone. Search town.>

<Are you okay? You’re speaking oddly.> He fell from his perch, flapping on dead air to try and gain altitude. I could feel him watching me as I wheeled and headed back towards town. <Jake, wait for me.> 

<No time. I have to find her.> 

<Did you sleep at all last night?> 

<I have to FIND HER.>

I poured on the speed. 

<Slow down! Jake! I can’t keep up with you!> A faint curse later and he was out of range.

I didn’t care. I’d told him what to do; he’d do it. 

And I had to find her. 

: : :

They caught up to me as I flew around downtown. I saw them coming, pigeons to blend in. Good thinking. I’d have to demorph soon. Then I’d go pigeon so I blended in more. 

<There you are.> Tobias sounded oddly relieved. 

A pigeon got right in my face and I had to bank around her. <What the hell?> Rachel was mad. Fantastic, another thing to deal with. <What is wrong with you? It’s a Friday, you’re missing school! And why didn’t you wait for Tobias? Or any of us?> 

<I have to find her.> 

There was a brief pause, then Marco said, <You were right. He is a zombie.> 

I registered it, but paid him no mind. It wasn’t important right now; what I was doing was. I searched, calling out every few minutes in private thought-speech. I hoped that Cassie would hear me if I flew over enough of the town. If she was even here. 

If she was even alive. 

I shuddered at the thought. No, she had to be alive. 

<—even listening to me? Jake?> Marco sighed. Said something that sounded Spanish. Then, <JAKE?> 

<What?> He was distracting me. Deal with the distraction, then get back to work. 

<How long have you been in morph?> 

<Sunrise.> 

There was a pause. Then multiple shouting voices echoed in my head and I spasmed, my wings flailing in instinctual panic. 

<—wrong with you—>

<—dangerously close—>

<—land your stupid—>

Then, Tobias, the loudest. <Demorph, Jake. NOW.> 

From their reactions, I assumed I was close to my time limit. My heart pounded unevenly in my chest as I dove toward the nearest rooftop. What the hell was wrong with me? I had to keep an eye on the clock! I knew that! And yet, I was so consumed with worry that I was endangering myself in my search for Cassie. I began demorphing as I hit the rooftop, a fact that made me relax instantly. I had enough time, although I had no doubt I’d likely cut it close. 

One of the pigeons landed as I grew to my full human height, demorphing just as quickly. I was fully human by the time Marco was halfway back to normal in front of me, and I began morphing again. He flapped one half-arm, half wing limb at me and growled, through a twisting mouth, “Nyot nyet.” 

I went back to human. Refused to look at him. Focused my gaze over the edge of the building, wondering how long this lecture would take. I had to find Cassie, had to know she was all right. I braced myself on the ledge, hands gripping stone. Trying to calm myself. We’d find her. We’d find her… 

“All right, I told the others to take a flight. But we are not getting in the air to join them until we talk about this.” 

I sighed and turned around. Marco’s arms were crossed, all hint of joking demeanor gone as he eyed me. “You? Talking?” I tried to play nonchalant, but I knew it wasn’t working. 

He sighed. “Yeah, me, all huggy-feely. That’s how crazy you’re being. Look. You’re worried. It’s Cassie. You’re an idiot for her. Ergo, you’re an idiot when she’s gone. But you have got to slow down and take a breath.” 

“No. Fine.” 

“You didn’t sleep at all, did you?”  

I raised an eyebrow. How did he…? 

“You’re doing that thing where you don’t use sentences. You’re exhausted. Your body is run ragged. You can’t keep morphing every two hours and pushing yourself like this.” 

“Can and will.” I glared at him, annoyed that he knew me well enough to know when I was not one-hundred percent. “I have to find her.” 

He jabbed a finger into my chest. “No. You ‘have to’ go home while the rest of us handle this. You ‘have to’ take a nap. Then you ‘have to’ take another nap. Then, if you’re rested enough, you can rejoin us.”

I shoved his hand away. Ran my hand through my hair. He had a point. I was pretty useless. I might even have missed something, I was so strung out and wired and exhausted all at once. It was like I was so tired that I’d swung right back around to wide-awake again. I nodded slowly, pinching the bridge of my nose. 

Marco let out a breath. I realized he had expected me to argue with him. “All right. Go home, buddy. We can deal without your crazy butt for a while.” With a grin and a wink, he began morphing again. I joined him, though this time he knew that I was going to do what he said. 

Or so he thought.

I put up the requisite struggle as we joined the others in the air. <Get me for anything. Anything.> 

<Will do.>

<Look at pool entrances.>

<We know.> 

<Time limit.> 

<We know, dad. Go home.> 

<But—>

<We can handle it, fearless leader.> Then, in what I was sure was private thought-speech, Marco added, <I’ll come get you the instant we find your fair lady.> 

I flew off with a, <Careful.> I flew towards home, leaving them behind. 

Then I flew past my house. 

I entered Marco’s, grabbing my clothes from his closet and dressing quickly and quietly. I let myself out and headed down the street—away from my house. I went a few blocks over, a few down, and came to a stop in front of Erek King’s house.

The Chee. Maybe they knew something.

The Chee who played Erek’s dad opened the door when I knocked. “Welcome, Jake. I have an update.” 

I nodded, then registered what he’d said and frowned. “Update?”

“Marco came to see us yesterday and filled us in on the situation. Some of my people are covering for the rest of you at school. Erek is impersonating Cassie, like you asked.”

I nodded absentmindedly, only focused on the fact that Marco had excellent foresight. I had been so focused I hadn’t even thought of it. 

Mr. King continued, oblivious to the fact that I didn’t know. “Visser Three left early this morning—so early it was technically barely morning. His people found something on an aircraft, and apparently it was urgent enough that he dropped everything else and took off. One of our people stowed on the Blade ship when she heard. There was so little time she had to act quickly. We received a message on the Chee-Net. Erek was going to come tell you about it later today.” 

Chee-Net. Chee Internet, developed before humans had even begun thinking about pyramids. I blinked several times, my mind trying to catch up to what was going on. “Airplane? Where to?” 

“It was a commercial jet, headed for Australia.” 

“Take off?” 

His human hologram self blinked at me. “Pardon?”

“Took off from?” 

“I…ah, it took off from the nearby airport. Jake, are you all right?” He reached toward me as I made to turn around. “You’re speaking quite oddly. And you look exhausted.” 

“Been up all night. Cassie’s missing. I have to find her.” I grinned at Mr. King. “Might be her on the plane.” 

“Oh. _Oh_! I’ll tell Lourdes to search for her. It hadn’t occurred to me…” His expression blanked, as if he were thinking about something hard. I turned to leave. “Wait, Jake! You’re a little…off. Are you sure you’re all right?” 

He seemed to take me in, cataloguing my nervous habits—which ran in full force at the moment, from the knee shaking to the restless hands. I was sure my hair was standing straight up, I’d run my hands through so many times. I was sure I appeared a bit crazed, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I shot him a wild-eyed look as I headed out the door. 

“I have to find her.”

Then I was gone. 

: : :

I used Marco’s house again, shamelessly breaking in and stashing my stuff in his closet. I had to find everyone and tell them the news. I had hope that this mysteriously important airplane might be where Cassie had escaped, but I had no way of knowing for sure. And we needed to keep searching for her, just in case. I had to help. I had to find her. 

I was halfway to where I had last seen them when I remembered why I hadn’t been with them in the first place. They’d sent me home to rest. Well…this was more important than my sleep. I had to tell them about this info as soon as possible. The more time wasted, the less time we’d have to figure out what really happened. 

Regardless, it still took me hours to find them. I had to pause and demorph, then remorph as I searched, several times. Now I was looking for Cassie and the rest of my team, so I called for her and looked for them at intervals. My exhaustion played havoc on my concentration—I lost count of the number of times I zoned out. 

School was over by the time I finally found them, all the way across town. 

I found them in a back alley, demorphing behind a dumpster. I briefly wondered why they were all together in a group, before I heard Rachel reporting she’d found nothing. Oh. This was their meeting spot, then. 

Tobias saw me before I landed, fluffing his feathers up. He probably gave them an alert in private thought-speech, too, because Rachel glared at me as I landed. Ax seemed concerned, and Marco was definitely exasperated. 

“What are you _doing_ here? You’re supposed to be resting at home,” Rachel snapped. 

<Ran into Mr. King. Visser’s interested in a plane that left here. Blade ship took off after it. A Chee stowed away, sent a message to the others on Chee-Net.> 

Marco blinked. “Any specific type of plane?” 

<Commercial jet.>

Rachel breathed deeply. “Okay, so Cassie might be on a plane headed—where?” 

<Australia.> 

Her eyes widened. Marco laughed. “Cassie in the Outback. Oh, wow.”

<Don’t know for sure if she’s there.>

<Where else could she be?> Tobias asked. <It’s one of the more logical options. I can’t see her not having found her way back home by now, if she’s still here. No matter if she’s trapped in a morph or not.> 

He made a good point. If she was here and alive, surely she’d be back at her house by now. 

The thought propelled me, carried me away. I heard human shouts behind me, but I was entirely focused on my destination. 

Behind me, Tobias was grumbling. <You know, I really think this is the least healthy thing for you to do right now.> 

<I have to FIND HER.> 

<Yeah, I know. You’ve said that.> 

I ignored him as I zipped off. Cassie’s house. Cassie. 

Please let her be there… 

: : :

I was heading there at breakneck speed when I remembered what Erek had told me. He was playing Cassie, projecting a hologram of her. 

When I reached her barn, the thought was in my head and my stomach twisted upon seeing typical Cassie feeding the animals in the barn. Surely, if this was the real Cassie, she’d have come to find us or told us right away… <Cassie?> 

Erek—in Cassie-hologram—looked up. “Ah, Jake. No, she has not yet appeared.” My heart sank like a stone and I landed hard on a bale of hay. I began to demorph, mindful of my time limit—I didn’t want another verbal beating from Marco. “I received a message from Lourdes, however,” he went on, carefully placing an injured bird back in a cage. “She hasn’t heard anything yet, but I am sure that if Cassie is on that plane Lourdes will find her.” 

I shrugged my human shoulders, feeling my face twist back into a human shape. “Hopefully.” I hated the thought that she was somewhere here and we hadn’t been able to find her. The plane option was the only one I was willing to seriously consider at this point. 

Erek turned his head to the side, looking at me with an oddly blank expression. “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, Jake, but you look terrible.” 

<Understatement.> Tobias swept into the barn, landing on a higher bale of hay. He glared down at me. <You idiot. We told you to go sleep.> 

“Can’t sleep. I have to find her.” 

<Oh for the love of—>

<Hey, you. Brainless.> The rest of the team flew into the barn. <What is wrong with you?> 

I blinked up at Marco, my brain stuttering to catch up with everything. “I have to find her.” 

<If you say that damn sentence _one_ _more_ _time_... > 

“Ah. Excuse me.” We turned our attention to Erek. “I just received a message from Lourdes. She is certain that Cassie was on the plane. Several of the Yeerk search party that boarded the plane have just told the Visser of her discovery and subsequent escape yesterday evening. They are now searching the area of Australia where they believe she landed when she jumped out of the plane.” 

I felt my shoulders sagging. A combination of relief and terror gripped me. I knew where she had been since she went missing, but now she was halfway around the world on another continent. A large continent. We couldn’t help her if we had no clue where to find her. 

I could feel the rest of my team’s relief. We were all so glad to know where she was, but this wasn’t nearly over. I ran my hand through my hair. “Okay. Keep updated.” 

“Of course.” He began to go back to her chores, but paused almost immediately. “Jake, I really think you need some rest.” 

“Later,” I waved my hand, leaning against the hay. 

He blinked at me and a faint smile appeared on his face. “Are you waiting here for me to receive more messages?” 

“Yep.” 

“Should you not…perhaps eat something?.” 

“Not hungry.”

“All right.” His holographic eyes darted up to the rest of the team. “You may as well join us.” He sounded amused. I wondered why, but quickly shrugged it off. I had to focus. 

Okay, so the Chee were certain Cassie was in Australia. To be honest, I couldn’t see how any of our other theories were possible. She would have made her way back to us already if that were the case, or we’d have found her. We’d been all over this town—well, I had, at least. I’d have heard something. I had been combing every location we knew of, and obviously we’d asked every source we had. Namely, Erek. Thank goodness for the Chee. 

The barn fell silent. I heard my team bickering quietly among one another for a little, but tuned them out effortlessly. I was completely focused on Erek, who looked exactly like Cassie. A part of me was waiting anxiously to see her again, to hear information about her. The other part of me was drinking in the holo-version. Even knowing that it wasn’t Cassie, I couldn’t help myself. I needed to see her face. 

We sat there for a short time. I lost track of the minutes. It was only when Erek paused and straightened that I realized how much time had passed. He turned to us, having been methodically sweeping the barn floor with a long-handled broom. “Lourdes has found her.” 

I jumped off the hay. Erek raised a hand, his expression still blank and distant. “She’s wounded, but has demorphed. She’s exhausted and has fallen asleep. Lourdes is concealing her, and will be bringing her back on the nearest public transport. She does not feel that a return trip stowed aboard the Blade ship is advisable.” 

“How long?” I asked. How long until she was home? 

“Any commercial flight will take approximately fifteen hours. Lourdes is about two or three hours from the airport. It will take them until morning.” 

“Tomorrow?” It was barely midafternoon now! 

I felt Marco’s hand on my shoulder for support. I shook my head, trying to pull myself together. She was safe, that was the point. However long it took for her to get back to us was worth it to know that she would be coming back. I was sure that she and Lourdes could successfully evade the Visser and other Yeerks to get transportation back home, but I couldn’t help wishing that she was back here _right now_. 

Erek smiled, placing the broom back where it belonged. “I suggest you go home and rest. I will alert you when Lourdes tells me what flight she and Cassie board so you can meet her at the airport.” With that, he left the barn. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt bad for not calling out a thanks as he left, but I had the feeling Erek knew exactly how I felt. His knowing look had been proof enough for me. I sighed, breathing deeply. Then I faced my team. 

I felt heat on my cheeks as I noticed them staring at me. “What?” 

“You all there now, fearless leader?” Marco’s tease was almost overshadowed by the clear concern I could see in his eyes. 

“Yeah. I… Yeah.” 

Rachel rolled her eyes, but a sly smile spread across her face. “You are head over heels,” she proclaimed. Feathers appeared in her hair. “I’m going to sleep. When are we meeting?”

“I’ll call.” I let her go without comment, watched Tobias nod to me and flutter out after her. 

Ax began to morph almost as immediately. <Forgive me, Prince Jake, but I am in dire need of sufficient feeding and rest. Please find me as soon as necessary.> 

“Thanks, Ax. I will.” 

Then it was me and Marco, in a barn full of animals. He stared at me. I stared back, raising an eyebrow. Daring him to say anything. 

Finally he cracked a grin. “Hey, you’re almost speaking full sentences again.” I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I know. Come on, we’ll crash at my house.” I smiled in thanks, knowing that it was his subtle way of ensuring I didn’t have to deal with Tom or my parents when I was operating on absolutely zero hours of sleep. 

I followed him through the air, demorphing and collapsing on his bedroom floor. He threw a blanket and pillow on me, both of which I ignored. I stared up at the ceiling. It felt weird to lie down for the first time in…how long had I been up? I quickly tried to calculate it. Up at seven for school yesterday, it was just past eleven Saturday… I gave up. Math sucked. Added to sleep deprivation and unbelievable stress, I wasn’t up for it. 

With the daylight making the room glow, I couldn’t close my eyes and sleep. Too much effort. I stared at the ceiling.

There was dead silence for a long moment before Marco asked, “You’re not sleeping, are you?” 

“Nope.”

“I don’t think I can, either.” 

We got up and plugged in a video game. 

: : :

Despite my exhaustion, I simply couldn’t fall asleep. Marco did, during the game. I grew suspicious when I began winning, then glanced over and noticed that he was drooling. I finished up the level, beating him soundly and turned it off. Yawning, I stretched out and contemplated everything and nothing at all. I couldn’t seem to focus on anything, but neither could I turn off my brain. 

Finally, the setting sun told me it was okay to call Erek. I used the phone. 

_“Hello?”_

“Hey, Erek. What’s up?” 

_“Not much. Our friend is landing at six in the morning, though.”_

“Really? Wow, that stinks. Night flight.” 

_“Yeah. She wants to get off before the plane even gets to the gate, she dislikes flying that much.”_

“I can imagine. Oh, hey, sorry, I have to go wake Marco. We’re meeting up with Rachel later.” 

“ _Yeah, I can tell our foreign friend and his pet about the flight.”_

“Hah, have fun. Tell them we’re meeting at their place.” 

“ _Will do.”_

I paused. “Thanks, Erek.”

I could practically hear his smile over the line. “ _My pleasure, Jake.”_  

Dialing Rachel’s number, I waited patiently for her to pick up. “ _Hello?_ ”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“ _Oh, hey.”_

“I just spoke to Erek. His friend is getting in at six in the morning.”

“ _Oh, wow. Guess he won’t be hanging out with us.”_

“Yeah. He said she’s real nervous about flying, wants to get off before the plane before reaching the gate sometimes.”

“ _That sucks. Want me to tell everyone else?”_

“No, it’s under control. Marco and I will meet you later, with our foreign friend." 

_“All right. Usual time?”_

“Nah, we’re planning on an hour before.”

“ _Okay, then. See you at their place_.”

“All right, see you.”

We hung up. I kicked Marco. 

He snorted, falling right off the couch. “Wha— Oh. You.” 

“Called Erek. Plane’s coming in at six in the morning.” 

He groaned and buried his head back against the seat cushions of the couch. “Too early, daddy…” 

“Meeting everyone at Ax’s at five.” 

“That’s only slightly worse.” 

“Should probably get home.” At that, Marco lifted his head. “Almost sunset.” 

“You should eat first, though.”

“Not hungry.” He eyed me. “Really.” 

He sighed. “Don’t get into it with your brother, huh? He can just suck it, whatever you were fighting about.” 

“Oh, trust me. Least of my concerns.” I rolled my eyes. I didn’t want to deal with Tom at all right now, but I had to go home or my parents would be suspicious. 

Marco saw me out, closing the door behind me with a yawn. I headed off down the street, walking a bit too fast to be casual. I was anxious and eager, wanted to see Cassie. Only then would I really be able to rest. I had to make sure she was okay. 

I spaced out on my walk home, only registering that I was entering the house when I saw my parents and Tom staring at me. “Hi?” 

“Well, you were gone all day, weren’t you?” Mom gestured to the table. “Want to join us?” 

I still wasn’t hungry. “Already ate.” 

Dad squinted at me. “You look exhausted.” 

“Had a game marathon after school.” I shrugged my shoulders, noticing that Tom had yet to say a word to me. In fact, after the initial surprise at seeing me, he had turned resolutely back to dinner and pretended not to see me. “Tired.”

“That explains the lack of complete sentences,” Mom laughed. “Go up and rest, honey. But next time, be responsible. You do have to live outside the game box sometime. You’re just lucky it’s Friday.” 

I rolled my eyes as I disappeared from sight. Making my way up the stairs, I almost paused when I heard a murmur in the kitchen and the sound of steps following me. I made it all the way to my door before I heard Tom call my name. I almost groaned out loud; didn’t I have enough to deal with? Not right now… 

“Jake, look.” I turned around, watching him warily. This persistent Yeerk was really getting on my last nerve. “I didn’t mean that, last night. I just thought, since you never want to tell me about anything anymore, you might feel more comfortable opening up to someone else. Someone who could help you.” 

“Don’t need your kind of help.” I shook my head. “Too tired to deal with this. Leave me alone.” 

I slipped into my room without letting him get another word in, locking the door behind me. Then I collapsed on my bed, trying to shake away the hurt. Not this, I didn’t need this again… I fumbled for my alarm clock, setting it at low volume so no one else in my house would hear it. Then I moved it, plopping it on the pillow beside my head. Finally, I let my eyes close. 

The world swam around me and I finally welcomed the unfeeling embrace of sleep.  

: : :

 _BZZZZZ_.

My eyes shot open and I jerked awake, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I blinked at the darkness, registering belatedly that it was my alarm clock—not any other type of alarm, or an intruder. Running a hand over my face, I looked at the time. Four-thirty? Why had I set it for…

The memories zoomed back and I threw myself out of bed. Pushing the window open, I slipped into morph faster than I ever had and was off, flying through the night. 

I’d left myself enough time to get to Ax’s scoop, but I had to be cutting it close anyway. I might be the last one there. 

Sure enough, I saw everyone else gathered around waiting when I got there. I landed on a branch beside Tobias. <Everyone ready?> 

<You bet, fearless leader.> Marco fluttered his feathers. <Did you get some sleep?> I couldn’t tell if that was to just me or not. 

I looked down at Erek. <Are they on the plane?> 

“Yes, they safely secured themselves in the baggage hold. When the plane lands, Lourdes will jump with Cassie in a small morph on her body. They will then cross invisibly and meet up with you at the edge of the field where the planes take off, on the opposite side of the terminal. Lourdes will head for the left-most corner of the field. You know the area?” 

<Yes.> We’d be there to meet Cassie. <Thank you, Erek.> 

“Of course.” He smiled and nodded to each of us. “We’re glad to be of assistance.” 

<All right, let’s go.> I took off and everyone followed suit. 

For a few minutes, we were silent in the air. Then Rachel’s voice echoed in my head. <So, I think _somebody_ got some sleep before we saw them again. >

I sighed. 

<You know, Rachel, I think you’re right,> Tobias answered. <Isn’t it amazing what a little sleep can do for _someone’s_ mind? > 

<I know. You’d think,> Marco added gleefully, <that a man in love will do anything it takes to get back his woman, but I admit I’ve never seen such lengths before. Depriving himself of food and sleep!> 

<Okay, okay,> I sighed. <I’m sorry, all right? I got a little crazy for a while, but I’m fine now.> 

<I’ll say. I was about to dive-bomb you if the words ‘I have to find her’ came out of your mouth one more time.> 

<While I do not understand the point of this, I must admit, Prince Jake, that I was quite concerned for your mental well-being,> Ax added, gently cutting Tobias off his tirade.

<Oh, he was completely wacked out of his gourd.> Rachel laughed evilly. <I cannot _wait_ to tell Cassie about this. > 

My stomach twisted again. A familiar feeling for a different cause. <You wouldn’t.>

<I would.>

<Rachel, not one word of this is getting to Cassie, do you hear me?> 

<Hmmm…no, I don’t believe I hear you.> 

I focused to send a private message. <Marco. Please. You can tease me without limit in private if you help me now.> 

<I can only do so much,> he told me. Then, <Aww, Xena, you can’t tell her right away! You have to savor in the moment, think of just the right instant to let her know! Let the lovebirds have their reunion tonight—or this morning, whatever. Hold it in. Then, _then_ you reveal all when the timing is _perfect_. > 

<You know, Marco, sometimes you can be a genius.> Rachel cackled evilly. I was frightened when Tobias joined her. 

Marco dipped his head. <Thank you, thank you.> Then privately, <You’re welcome.> 

<I owe you,> I told him. 

<Yes, you do.> 

: : : 

We made it to the airport and landed, demorphing outside of the barbed-wire fence. The darkness kept us hidden, and we crouched in the shrubbery, waiting. Ax kept time for us, and we waiting eagerly for the plane to land. 

We didn’t have to wait very long. Her flight was early. Of course, we didn’t know it was hers until we saw a shimmer in the middle of blank air.

I sprung to my feet immediately, watching as a Chee climbed the fence in a human guise. Lourdes dropped to her feet before us, smiling in greeting. I was about to ask where Cassie was when I saw the rapidly growing squirrel on the ground.

I barely kept myself from grabbing her until she was fully human. As it was, I think she still had a tail when I moved, but her eyes were shining brightly as she looked at all of us. I was pretty sure she didn’t mind, because her arms were wrapped tight around me as soon as she was in my arms. 

I felt everyone else moving in, but I clung to that quiet moment between the two of us, feeling the pressure on my chest ease as she whispered, “Jake.” 

: : :

I got some rest. We all did. I did some research when Marco called me to suggest I look into it. Got caught up with what the cover was for our airport mission. Felt guilty for a while. Then left my house and met up with Marco and Ax. And headed to the Gardens, where Rachel had summoned us. Hung out, supervised Ax as he indulged in popcorn (and attempted to indulge in cardboard), spoke to Cassie.

Rachel and Tobias indulged in Marco’s suggestion to hold off until the most embarrassing moment to tell Cassie about my behavior while she was gone. I let them, deciding to enjoy the fact that Cassie was here for them to embarrass me in front of. 

I walked home with Cassie. It wasn’t too long a walk back to my house, and this way I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to her right away. 

We were quiet as we headed along the road. I wasn’t sure what to say, or what she wanted me to say. I never was very good at this kind of thing. I wasn’t completely blind; I noticed other girls before, were interested in them. But Cassie…Cassie was different. I could imagine having reacted the way I had if it had been any other girl to go missing. Even if it was someone else in our ragged team, I wouldn’t have reacted this way—which made me feel a little guilty. At the same time…none of them were her. 

I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She snuck a peek at me and turned her gaze away, blushing. I slowed, and then stopped. 

She’d been gone for too long, in my opinion. Long enough that my reservations were almost buried in the back of my mind. 

It was dark, the streetlights further ahead and a little behind. I saw faint starlight in her eyes as she tilted her head up. “Cassie…” 

She bit her lip, drawing my gaze instantly. I couldn’t ignore the sight, couldn’t squash the feeling when there was no one else around to stop me. My hands cradled her face and I leaned down. 

She met me halfway, arms sliding around my neck as she went on her toes. Pressed herself up and close to me. I held her to my body, lifting her securely in my grasp.  The sensation blurred every other thought clear out of my mind. 

Minutes passed. I lost track of time. When I pulled away, the faint light of the setting sun illuminated the very edge of the horizon. I stared into her eyes as I told her, “We should go before it’s completely dark.” 

“Yeah.” 

Neither of us moved. For several more minutes. 

She got home eventually. And I made my own way home, feeling lighter than air. I was flying. Literally. 

I landed a block away, my clothes hidden as usual. Walking the rest of the way to my house, I hesitated when I opened the door only to see Tom at the table. Mom and dad had to be out—again. 

He looked at me, an unreadable expression on his face. I grunted in greeting, heading toward the fridge. Suddenly, I was starving. Really, that shouldn’t have been much of a surprise; I had been going without food for the past couple days. Although I had brought money with me when we went to the Gardens, so I got some junk to eat there. Still, I was making up for lost days. 

“Mom left money again.” I paused, my hand on the handle. “We could order some pizza. Watch a game.” The tone of his voice was distinctly different from the last time he had made that offer. The sense of déjà vu that accompanied it was mixed with a surge of guilt. 

It may be the Yeerk, and he may have been trying to manipulate me into considering the Sharing. But I didn’t want my brother—my real brother, the one trapped in his own head—to think that I was angry at him any longer. I didn’t want that. 

I turned around, eyeing him suspiciously. Should I? 

“Look.” He placed his hands flat on the table, meeting my eyes seriously. “I want to get past this, all right? Just you, me, some food and a game. That’s it. No Sharing, no asking about your troubles. Nothing but two brothers hanging out.” 

Should I? I looked away from him, trying to pretend once again that he was really my brother. 

I reached for the phone. “Pepperoni?”


End file.
